Under The Weather
by LiLiKun18
Summary: This is why you don't leave the window open when you sleep.  Semi-Serious, Semi-Funny and Cute.
1. Symptoms

"Achoo!"

Alphonse looked down at his brother and sighed. "Are you sure you're feeling ok?" he asked.

"Look Al, I dold you. It's just a little head co-Achoo!"

Alphonse raised a non existent eyebrow, and tried to scrutinize his brother as best he could. Edward's hair was in a large tangled mess and dark rings were under his eyes. His skin looked pale and sickly.

"Jeez, brother you look awful."

"Doh I do dot, I'm just dired." Ed grumbled crossing his arms. Al sighed and rubbed his head.

"Why did you stay up all night with the window open?" Alphonse lectured.

"I didn't dow it was going due rain!" Edward retorted.

"Your lucky you didn't catch a flu." Alphonse chided.

"Yeah yeah..."

The suit of armor and the small state alchemist were walking down the streets of central on their way to meet with Colonel Mustang. The whole way there Edward sneezed and complained about having to go report to that good for nothing colonel and the giant pile of paper work he was going to have to file.

"If you don't want to do it brother, you could just call and say you're sick. I'm sure Mustang would understand."

"I dold you Al! I'm fine!"

Alphonse's red orbs narrowed, "When we do get home you should take a nap or something to make up for all that sleep you lost."

"Whadever..." Ed sniffed.

* * *

It appeared Alphonse wasn't the only one who was seriously doubting Ed's claims of being fine.

"Yo chief, you feeling ok? You're not lookin' so good." Breda observed as he watched Ed file his paper work.

"For de last dime, I'M FINE!" Ed yelled. He turned around only to be grabbed by Havoc.

"HEY! PUT BME DOWN!"

Havoc pressed his hand on Ed's forehead. "Yep that's a fever."

"LET GO OF BME!"

"Ok fine chief." Havoc simirked rolling his eyes and dropping Ed.

"Hey Ed," Fury smiled from the other side of the room. "If you don't feel well you can go home and we'll file those papers for you."

Ed sighed. "Nah, dats ok. I'll dake care of it." He sniffled. He gathered up his report and made his way into Mustang's office.

Mustang looked up from his paper work when he heard Edward knock. "Ah Fullmetal I was-"

Mustang stopped and gave Ed a once over, then frowned.

"Head Cold..." Ed muttered.

"I see..." Mustang continued to frown. Hawkeye was also giving Ed worried glances. "So, about your report,"

"Right here..." Ed held up the little folder and handed it to Roy. "I have all the details about dose derrorists we dook down last week." He explained. "Everyding you deed to dow should be in dere."

"Great..."

Ed glared at Mustang. His superior looked genuinely concerned, which annoyed Ed even more.

"You sure you're feeling-"

"YES I AM FINE!" Ed screamed, causing himself to double over in a coughing fit.

"That answers my question..." Mustang remarked. "Now why don't you go home and get some rest, come on back when you're feeling better."

"Urghh..." Ed growled. "Look I'm fine! You don't deed to sed bme home."

"Oh it's not you I'm worried about." Mustang explained. He reached down into his desk and pulled on a germ mask. "The last thing I need right now is to get sick, so please comeback when you're healthy."

"WHY YOU!"

"Uh...Fullmetal?" Riza piped in. "You have some snot right there..." She pointed to her nose. She handed him a box of kleenex.

Edward glared before blowing his nose.

"Dank you Lieutenant..." he muttered.

* * *

"I told you so brother..."

"Oh shut up..." Ed grumbled. He started coughing again and Alphonse had to stop and wait for him to catch his breath.

"Maybe we should call a doctor or something..." Al suggested.

"It's ok, I just deed a good dights sleep and I'll be fine."

"Ok..." Al said, but he wasn't convinced.

When the two got home, Ed pulled off his jacket and was dead asleep before Alphonse could even get in the door.

"Really Brother?" Alphonse whispered as his brother snored away. "You make all that fuss and then you fall asleep." He shook his big metal head and went into the kitchen.

"I wonder if brother will want soup or something for when he wakes up..." Alphonse pondered. He rummaged around some of the cabinets and found a few potatoes and some other vegetables. "Looks like I have enough here to make some stew, I just need some milk."

Being a giant hollow suit of armor with no digestive system of his own, the responsibility of making sure Edward was fed, fell to Al. While his older brother took care of their expenses, train tickets, places to stay, and basically everything else related to getting their bodies back, Alphonse took it upon himself to look after Ed's personal well being. He was always so busy he never remembered anything important, so Alphonse took care of things like the grocery shopping.

Alphonse peeked inside Ed's room. He was still fast asleep. "I'll just run out real fast and then come back." Al decided. "He'll probably sleep the whole time seeing how tired he is."

Alphonse took Ed's pocket watch and headed out towards the market.

* * *

"Yes could I have some milk please?"

"Of course," The young girl running the shop smiled. She rummaged around back and then handed Alphonse a glass bottle of milk. "Is that all?"

"Actually," Alphonse asked. "Do you have anything that's good for colds?"

"I have some tea and honey would that work?"

Alphonse remembered when his mother had been ill. Granny Pinako had come over with tea, and it always left Trisha feeling better.

"Yes that would be great, just put it on my tab." Alphonse explained, holding up the silver pocket watch.

"Come again Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Heh heh, right..." Alphonse laughed, not feeling like explaining the girl's mistake. He hurried home clutching the groceries to his chest. When he got there he was pleased to see that Ed had indeed slept through his entire outing.

"Now lets see...how do you make stew..." Alphonse thought as he pulled out a pot and began boiling water.

* * *

A few hours later Alphonse was stirring a complete pot of stew, and the tea was coming along nicely too. At least he thought it was, it wasn't as if he could bend over and smell it, or give it a taste test. He took it off the stove and poured it into a bowl and placed a cup of tea next to it. He loaded the whole meal onto a tray before making his way to Ed's room.

Alphonse knocked on Edward's door.

"Hey brother, how are you feeling?"

Ed moaned and then turned over and continued to snore. He sounded terrible, his voice was raspy and dry sounding.

"Hey are you ok?" Alphonse asked. He bent over to get a better look at Edward. He gasped.

Edward's cheeks were red with fever, and the rest of his body was flushed and clammy. His breath was coming out in little wheezes.

"I knew you were sick"

"I feel awful..." Ed moaned.

"I'm calling the doctor."

"No it's ok, I'll be fine."

"Brother, shut up and drink your tea." Al snapped handing Ed the tea cup.

"You made me tea?"

"...And stew but that's not important now." Al panicked as he picked up the phone and called the hospital.

"It tastes good..." Ed mumbled as he sipped the tea.

Alphonse looked at Ed. "You like it?"

"Yeah it's good..."

"..."

"What?"

"...Wow you're really sick..."

Ed did his best to glare. "Jerk..."

* * *

Author's Note: If you can't understand what Ed's saying, try reading it out loud and you'll get it. His nose is stuffed up if you're wondering why I wrote it weird.


	2. Diagnosis

"Well, from what I can tell, it appears he has a pretty nasty flu." The doctor explained after he had taken Ed's temperature and done a short examination.

"You're not going to give me a shot are you?" Ed coughed. Since the doctor had arrived he wouldn't shut up about not wanting to get a shot.

"Give him couple days of rest and he'll be fine." The doctor told Alphonse.

"Right, thanks Sir." Alphonse smiled, nodding his head gratefully.

"If you don't mind there's just a couple of questions I'd like to ask you in private." The doctor explained.

"Um…like what?" Alphonse wondered.

"Just some details about his health prior to this, I don't think there will be any problems it's just common procedure."

"Oh, Ok!" Alphonse thought that sounded reasonable.

The two moved into the kitchen while Ed finished up what was left of the stew in bed.

"Does Mr. Elric have any allergies? In case we decide to give him medication?" The doctor asked as he pulled a clipboard out of his bag.

"Sometimes he sneezes during the spring when all that pollen is floating around."

"Any health conditions I might need to know about?"

"Well other than his arm of his leg I can't think of anything." Alphonse pondered.

"Right, are there any health conditions that he might've inherited from a family member?"

Alphonse mind suddenly halted, and he felt worry creep over him.

"Mr. Elric?"

"Huh? Oh sorry, …our mother died of a sickness, we don't really know what it was though."

The doctor looked up from his clipboard, "I'm sorry, that must've been hard on the two of you."

Alphonse nodded.

"Do you remember what your mother's symptoms were?"

"She used to cough a lot, and on one occasion she collapsed." Al explained.

The doctor smiled. "From what I can tell your brother just has a flu, so you don't have to worry about that."

Alphonse straightened his head up a little and tried to look cheerful (which was difficult in a suit of armor.)

"If you need me again feel free to call anytime," The doctor smiled as he got up to leave. Alphonse stood up too.

"Thanks again,"

"My pleasure, I'm happy to help you and your little brother Mr. Fullmetal."

"I'M THE OLDER ONE!" Ed screamed from the other room. "GET IT RIGHT!"

Alphonse put his head in his palm.

* * *

"Sooo…bored…" Ed whined as he tried to prop himself up in bed.

"Why don't you rest some more?" Alphonse suggested.

"I've been sleeping all day…" Ed whined.

"That's because you're sick Brother…"

"You wanna play cards?" Ed suggested.

"No, you'll just cheat."

Ed scowled and looked up at the ceiling. "It feels like it's a gazillion degrees in here." He sighed pulling the covers down a bit.

"While I can't say for sure, I think that's your fever talking…" Alphonse pulled the blankets back up.

Ed muttered something incomprehensible then rolled over, as he did so though Alphonse thought he saw Edward jolt a bit.

"Brother, are you Ok?"

Edward suddenly jumped out of bed and made a dash for the kitchen sink.

"Hey! Ed what're you-" Alphonse trailed off when he heard vomiting noises.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hello, Doctor?"

"Ah, Mr. Elric what's wrong?"

"Do people with the flu tend to…you know…have stomach issues?"

"Sometimes, it depends on the case, why?"

"No reason, thank you."

* * *

"I think you probably shouldn't eat anything for a little while," Alphonse suggested as he washed away what was left of the stew.

"This day just keeps getting better…" Ed groaned clutching his stomach.

"Put the thermometer back in your mouth and let's see if your fever went up."

"Ok…Ok…"

Alphonse observed the tiny object. "One-hundred and two, I was right it went up a degree."

"Peachy…" Ed grumbled sarcastically.

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"Maybe you should get some more sleep?" Al suggested again.

"…"

"Ed?"

"…"

Alphonse leaned over, the felt a great wave of annoyance.

"That jerk fell asleep! After all that-urghhh!" Alphonse felt a great urge to wake his brother up and punch him. After all, poor Al had gone to all the trouble to make a soup only to have to wipe it out of the sink He had never before been so happy he couldn't smell. He looked down at his sleeping brother, and then shook his head.

Ed frankly looked exhausted, no matter how you looked at it.

"After this, I'm never letting brother pull an all-nighter again." Alphonse swore.

He then remembered what the doctor had said, and for a moment Alphonse was somewhere else.

"…I'll just watch him tonight…in case he wakes up." Al decided as he sat down and pulled up a chair.

Suddenly Ed's eyes popped open and he was running to the kitchen sink again.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAVE THE WINDOW OPEN!" Al screamed over Ed's barfing noises.

That night was a very long one.


	3. Recovery

Ed spent the rest of the next day in a sort of half sleep state. His eyes were open, but Alphonse couldn't be sure if he was completely aware of his surroundings.

"Watch...out...pony, the gorilla...has teeth..." Ed mumbled.

Alphonse placed a wet cloth on his head. "That's right Ed, you warn that pony..."

"The milk man...wants my feet." Ed grumbled. Suddenly he began thrashing around. "COW! COW! DEMON COW!"

Al lowered his head in shame. "My brother has nightmare hallucinations about cows..." He grumbled.

"I'll show you...you stupid cow..." Ed turned over and went back to sleep.

Alphonse got up and readjusted the blankets over Ed, making sure he didn't get to cold. After doing so, he sat back and continued to watch his brother sleep.

Watching Ed sleep was something Al had grown accustom to over the years, (Edward had no idea. While it wasn't like Alphonse had anything better to do, he didn't do it though because he was bored, or he liked to spy on his brother, or anything like that.

Ed had a lot of nightmares and he was notorious for talking in his sleep. Once again, Alphonse felt it was his responsibility to take care of his brother, and make sure he didn't frighten himself too much. After all, Ed was always stressing out over something.

"Alphonse...I beat the cow..." Ed smiled in his sleep.

"That's awesome brother."

* * *

Riza Hawkeye knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Someone called from inside the house. Riza glanced around before taking the doorknob and pulling the door open.

"Alphonse? Edward? It's me Lieutenant Hawkeye, I'm here to check up on you..."

"I'm in here." Alphonse called from the kitchen.

Riza came farther into the house, noticing how stuffy the rooms felt, as if no air had been let in for ages.

"Hello." Alphonse said cheerfully. He was bent over some thin looking soup, stirring it over the stove.

"I came to make sure you were doing ok." Riza explained. "I have a couple of get well cards from the folks over at Head Quarters." she said holding up a small bundle of paper. "I think the major sent you two some roses, but the Colonel told me not to bring those."

"Good thinking on his part." Alphonse chuckled. "Brothers resting now, so he won't be up for a while. Do you want something to drink?" Riza nodded and soon the two were resting at the kitchen table, Riza with a warm cup of Coffee.

"So how long did the doctor say he needed before he can return to his duties?" Riza asked curiously.

"Just a couple more days," Alphonse explained. "His fever hasn't gone down though, so I'm a little worried."

"He'll be fine," Riza said as she sipped her coffee. "We all get sick now and then."

Alphonse thought about that, and tried to remember the last time Edward had gotten sick. It had been a case of chickenpox he had contracted during their training. Al remembered that one well. Their teacher had tied Edward to a bed and duck taped oven mits to his hand so he wouldn't be able to scratch himself. That was one of Ed's lower points in life.

Ed coughed from the other room and made sort of a hacking noise. Alphonse assumed he was making use of the bucket that Alphonse had placed there earlier. Riza grimaced.

"I'm just kind of worried." Alphonse sighed. "Our mom...she got really sick like this too, and I don't want brother to..." Alphonse trailed off.

Riza smiled warmly. "Alphonse, he's going to be fine." she explained. "Edward is the last person to let something like a flu keep him from his goals."

"mmm..." Alphonse still kept his head down.

Riza's smile faded and she stared at her coffee. "...You know, my father was very ill." She said.

Alphonse looked up in surprise.

"He was an alchemist," she continued. "He had an infection in his lungs that kept him bedridden most of the time." Her usually sharp gaze seemed to soften a bit' as she remembered.

"He once said to me, that an alchemist dies only when their goals have been achieved and there is no where left to move towards." She looked at Alphonse and smiled again.

"Your brother still has a lot he wants to accomplish doesn't he? He needs to return your bodies to normal and I doubt he'll let a flu prevent him from doing that."

Alphonse looked at Riza and nodded his head. "Yeah you're right."

"You know I can hear everything you two are saying!" Ed muttered, causing both Al and Riza to jump.

Alphonse twisted around. "Brother? What're you doing out of bed?" he exclaimed.

Ed held up the bucket. "I was going to empty this. It's starting to smell." Riza turned a little green when she caught wif of it.

Ed placed the bucket on the floor and sighed. "Jeez you idiot, you were really worried I was gonna die? Why would you worry about that?" Ed grumbled.

"Well, because mom..."

"Mom didn't have the flu Al." for the first time in a while Ed looked pretty healthy again. His cheeks had some color again and he looked like he was doing better. "Look there's no way I would ever abandon you. No way, no how."

Alphonse felt happiness consume him, and Riza smiled as well.

Then Ed went pale. "Crap I overdid it." He gasped as he fell over and passed out.

"AH! Brother are you ok? Can you hear me?"

"Alphonse you're gonna knock the bucket over!"

"Splash."

"Ewww..."

"Brother say something!"

"No more demon cow...no more..."

* * *

A/N: Ha Ha get it? Ed _kicked_ the bucket! Play on words anyone? Anyone?


	4. Epilogue: Thriving

"Ah!" Ed stretched. "It's great to be out of that stuffy bedroom and headed back to work."

Alphonse nodded cheerfully as the two walked down the street. "So what did we learn from this experience brother?"

Ed gave an exasperated huff. "I need to take care of myself, and not leave myself in conditions that could cause me to become ill."

Alphonse gave an approving nod. Ed grimaced as he thought about being sick. "It's gonna be a while before me and stew can be in the same room." Ed sighed.

"Poor Lieutenant." Al chuckled. "She had to stay and help clean up after you collapsed."

"I do not envy her..." Ed muttered.

When the two finally reached headquarters, they found something was a little odd. "Hello? Havoc? Fury? Breda?" Ed called trying to find everyone, but none of them were in their usual places. Curious both the Elrics looked at each other and knocked on the door to Mustang's office.

"Hello Colonel?" Ed asked as he opened the door.

The two audibly when they opened the door gasped.

"Oh dear..." Al sighed as he placed his head in his hand.

"Ha Ha Ha!" Ed burst out laughing.

Mustang did not look amused. He was lying face down on his desk, his military uniform looking rather disheveled and his hair in a mess. He was pale and sick looking. Riza Hawkeye did not look much better.

"Damnit Fullmetal you god the whole office sick!" Mustang sniffed.

"Where is everyone?" Al asked.

"Dere in the bathrooms..." Riza explained. "I dink day are all currently drowing up."

"Ha Ha Ha! How do you like it now Mustang?" Ed laughed.

Mustang glared, but then went green. "Lieutenant, the bucket please..."

"Yessir." Riza handed him a bucket and winced at the Colonels retching noised.

"Well if you're all sick I guess that means I have the week off." Ed smirked. He grabbed Al's arm and tromped off.

"Hey! You get back he-BLEGHH!"

"It's ok Colonel..." Riza sighed. "It's ok..."

THE END


End file.
